The Keeper
by Fire Bear1
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy has decided that he absolutely will try out for the Quidditch team in his 5th year at Hogwarts and, with some practise, surely he'll be good enough. However, this will start a chain of events which could result in love lost or won and, if he's not careful, he could lose his best friend...
1. The Arrival

_**So. I've read the Cursed Child and I have a new Harry Potter universe favourite character. And, unfortunately, a new ship... I don't write much Harry Potter fan fiction (as I've got too many ideas for another fandom) but I decided I really wanted, uh, a certain person to be as happy as possible.  
**_

 _ **Unfortunately... I mean... It was gonna be a one-shot. But it's far too long for that. It may jump in time a bit, too.**_

 _ **Just in case, and FYI, this is set after the end of the Cursed Child so if you've not read that...**_

 _ **(Also, I may take ages in updating and I'm sorry but... ^^")**_

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy may have been a fantasist but he was also determined.

When his and Albus's fourth year finally came to an end, so did the seventh year of the Slytherin's Quidditch Keeper. With a spot opening up on the team, Scorpius decided to practice his flying skills over the summer. At first, he merely practised with his father. Then, after several letters between himself and Albus and between Draco and Harry, Scorpius found himself at the Potters' house for a few weeks in the middle of the holiday.

"Wow," Scorpius said to Albus who had come to greet him and his dad at the front door. "It's a lot... smaller than I thought it would be."

"We can't all live in a mansion, Scorpius," Albus replied, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't mean that. I meant... Well, you always go on about all your visitors so I thought there'd be more room."

Behind him, his father snorted. "Potter- Urgh, _Harry_ is all about _modesty_ over practicality."

Glancing at Albus, Scorpius found him fighting back a laugh. "Uh," said Albus once he'd gotten control of himself. "Come on in. Dad's not home yet but Mum's here. So's James and Lily, unfortunately."

"Is that them, Albus?" came the distant voice of Ginny Potter. "What's taking you so long?"

Shrugging, Albus ushered them both inside and had them leave their bags in the hallway. It was barely wide enough for two people to pass each other. A hat-stand stood not far from the door around which were a pile of shoes, some of which had been neatly placed, others thrown on top. Scorpius supposed those ones were probably James's. The walls had been painted yellow, a shade darker than what would have been too bright. Probably Ginny's idea.

Albus led them past photos which started with James Senior as a kid and his parents on one side and Molly and Arthur Weasley and their parents on the other. They charted their growing families over the years all the way to a few years before, perhaps the last time the Potters had managed to keep all three children in the one place for long enough. All of them waved as they walked by, a few of them, though, sticking their tongues out. Scorpius was sure he saw Sirius Black turn his back on them bend over and begin to lift his robes. He had to bite his lip not to burst into hysterical laughter.

A couple of photos were stationary and Scorpius almost stopped dead in his tracks to examine them. As his dad was just behind him, he kept going, barely catching sight of several overweight people. One picture had happily smiling children in it and Scorpius decided that they must be Harry Potter's Muggle relatives.

They passed by some doors and a set of stairs before they reached the door Albus was aiming for. It turned out to be the kitchen where Ginny was standing at a counter, her wand out. Four teacups and two mismatched mugs were sent from the cupboards to the table where James and Lily were sitting, munching on wonky, obviously home-made biscuits. A metal kettle sat on the ring of a stove, flames licking at its underside. The place had a homely feel to it, all greens and leafy patterns. Scorpius liked it instantly.

Ginny turned to them and smiled. "Hello there! Welcome to our home. We're just about to have some tea. We'll show you to your rooms afterwards and, when Harry gets home, we can all have dinner. Sound good?"

"I'm not sure biscuits before dinner is a good idea," said Draco with a frown.

Shrugging, Ginny turned back to the teapot she had floating behind her head. "Well," she said as she flicked her wand at it, "you don't need to eat any if you don't want to, Draco."

Feeling something tug at his sleeve, Scorpius dragged himself from watching Ginny and Draco interacting to find Albus jerking his head at the table. With his encouragement, Scorpius made his way over and sat next to Albus, on a chair which seemed to have a scorch mark. Rather peckish from the Side-Along Apparition, Scorpius opted to take one of the biscuits. As it turned out, it was a chocolate chip cookie.

"So you made it, then?" asked James, running a hand through his hair.

"Uh huh," Scorpius replied, biting into his cookie.

"I don't think he'd be able to get lost with a Side-Along Apparition," said Albus, snidely.

"Ah, we can but hope," was James's response, grinning widely.

"Don't be so mean, James," Lily piped up, frowning at him. She looked a lot like her mother, Scorpius thought, and presumed her expression would be the same as Ginny's when she was disapproving of something.

"I was only kidding!" James turned back to Scorpius. "I may not be on the Gryffindor team but I can totally help you practise."

"I'm the one helping him practise," said Albus. "That's the reason he's here. Right?"

"Well, that and your dad," Scorpius responded. "Dad said Mister Potter was a team captain at one point so he'd be the best to practise with."

"Did he really?" asked Ginny as she sat down at the table. Draco sat on Scorpius's other side, ducking his head to hide his obvious blush. Scorpius caught Albus's eye and they had to look away to avoid laughing.

"No," Draco corrected. "I said practising with a _Chaser_ was better than a Seeker, even if Potter- _Harry_ was a team captain."

"Didn't sound like that," Scorpius muttered.

"That's because you don't listen to me, Scorpius," said Draco with a sigh. On his other side, Ginny giggled into her hand, her wand carefully directing the teapot to pour an equal amount in each cup.

"Can I help, too?" asked Lily.

"Of course," said a voice from the door and everyone turned to see Harry enter the room, smiling at Lily. His robes looked a little dirty and ripped, as if he had been fighting at some point in the day. There was some dirt smeared across his face but, otherwise, he looked well. "The more the merrier," he said as he moved over to the only remaining chair. "Ron's bringing over Hugo and Rose, as well."

"Really?!" asked Scorpius, sitting up straighter. Beside him, Albus snorted into his tea. Scorpius kicked him under the table.

"Yeah. Don't worry, though. I'm sure she won't take too much information away to her team."

"Ah. Yes."

"She probably will," Albus said. "She's not stupid, Dad."

Harry flinched. "No. I doubt she is, considering. Anyway, I trust you two had a pleasant journey?"

"Yes," said Draco.

There was a short silence as Harry and Draco stared at each other for a moment. Scorpius was a little worried that one or the other might try to start a fight. Then they both looked down and lifted their cups as if neither of them knew quite what to say to each other.

"Well," said Albus into the quiet. "I'll show Scorpius up to my room now, Mum." He stood and stared at Scorpius who was loathe to leave his tea. When Albus raised an eyebrow, however, Scorpius sighed, gulped down most of his cup and hastened to his feet.

"I'll take your bag up, too, Dad," he told Draco.

"Thank you," was his father's response.

The two Slytherins hurried from the room, grimacing at each other. They both grabbed a bag and made their way to the stairs. Just before they reached them, though, Scorpius paused in front of the static pictures. As he had spotted earlier, the people in them were mostly larger than the Potters' slim frames. In one of them was a large man with a bushy moustache, a tall, thin woman and what was obviously their huge son, crammed into a Muggle school uniform – he had seen those in a textbook once. Beside that, in the newer photo, the son had apparently grown up: there was less fat on him and he looked much more muscular. His children looked a little chubby but were otherwise a much healthier size. Beside him was a beautiful woman, her face darker than her hands as if she had painted it. The main difference, however, was that the first picture looked smug and formal whilst the second looked happy and much kinder.

"I take it these are your cousins?" Scorpius asked. "Or... second cousins?"

"Yeah. We don't see them much. I think they go abroad during the school holidays and we're at Hogwarts the rest of the time, so..."

"Ah, I see. I still find it odd that their pictures don't move. It makes them seem... less happy, I suppose."

They made their way up the stairs. At the first landing, Scorpius peered along the hall, noting the large wicker baskets against the walls. "This is the bathroom floor," Scorpius explained. "One bathroom's not enough for all of us – Lily used to scream at us when there was only the two. Come on, we've got more stairs to climb."

"How many?" asked Scorpius with a frown. "Didn't you only have two floors?"

Albus grinned down at him, a happy, mischievous thing that Scorpius loved to see. "That's what it looked like, didn't it?"

Scorpius understood instantly. "It's bigger on the inside. You don't broadcast how rich you are to the world – clever."

"Yup. This is the floor Mum and Dad sleep on. All the guests, too. Well, when there's not many of them. I think your dad's going to be on this floor." He led Scorpius towards the first door on the left.

"What happens when there's more?"

"We grow a few floors," Albus said and opened the door. Inside was a sparse room: a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers and a full-length mirror. Paintings of flowers and meadows danced in the pictured breeze. Everything was cream: walls, bedclothes, carpet. It looked bland compared to the other rooms Scorpius had seen thus far. Albus saw his unimpressed expression and grinned. "Mum and Dad argue about the colours of all the guest rooms – it's a different colour each time you open the door. Uncle Ron got this one stuck, though, 'cause he was trying to keep it the sort of orange a Chudley Cannons fan would love. It ended up like this instead – nobody was pleased at that."

Laughing, Scorpius put down his dad's bag and they continued up the stairs to find themselves on a landing with a large vase at the entrance to the hall. According to Albus, that was to tell the floors apart. On that floor, were James and Lily's rooms. A last set of stairs, however, took them up one more floor to where Albus slept. There were actually two rooms on the uppermost floor but Albus led him through a door with his initials on a plaque. Underneath it, someone had attached a drawing of a snake which undulated and hissed.

Scorpius thought it rather suited his friend.

Inside, the room was a light blue, reminiscent of a sunny day. Posters for the Wimbourne Wasps were alongside posters for The Phoenix Sisters – both of them winked at Albus as he walked in and Scorpius had to stifle another laugh. He was fairly sure he remembered Albus disliking the band when they released their first single and everyone went gaga. Albus's bed had been made with light green covers. Beside it, a soft-looking mattress had been set up, this one with red blankets and a pink pillow. Scorpius wondered if the pillow was Lily's and if he'd be forced to use it. Various books had been shoved into a corner. Various potion ingredients were strewn across Albus's desk; obviously, he was already stocked up for the new school year. It was a relief not to see any Boomslang skin lying around, though.

Albus threw his bag onto the bed. "Mum says I need to give you my bed. So I've got the extra blankets and one of Lily's pillows."

"Poor you," said Scorpius, smirking.

"Screw you," Albus replied, dropping onto the seat at his desk. He gestured to the bed and Scorpius flopped onto it. Despite being smaller than his own, it was really comfortable and Scorpius had to resist the urge to lie back and snooze. "So," Albus continued, interrupting his thoughts. "How was the Apparition?"

"It's... weird. I think you'll have to see for yourself but it's not exactly pleasant."

"Oh, wow, thanks. I'm _really_ looking forward to those lessons now."

"You're welcome," Scorpius said, with an innocent smile.

"Twat." Albus narrowed his eyes at Scorpius then he shrugged and took a breath. "So, how're we going about this practising?"

"Well, I thought it'd be fun to go out after dinner and you could throw Quaffles at me while I try to catch them. If you think you can handle that...? I mean, I'm not going to push you into it."

"I'm not going to be the best but I'll be able to throw a ball, sheesh."

" _While_ on a broom. I know you don't like it."

"I told you to come over, didn't I?"

"Okay. Tomorrow, we'll ask the rest of them to help out, too."

"Yeah. The rest of them..." Albus paused, eyes suddenly sparkling with mischief. "Including _Rose_. Are you going to be able to actually fly with her around?"

"Of course!" Scorpius exclaimed, leaning forward. "I've got to impress her so I absolutely _cannot_ make a fool of myself."

"More than you already have, you mean?"

"Jerk!" Scorpius grabbed the pillow from Albus's bed and threw it at him. Albus caught it, laughed and hugged it to him.

"This is mine now! You can have Lily's."

"No way!" Launching himself from the bed, Scorpius lunged at Albus who was still laughing. At the last moment, Albus swivelled his chair and Scorpius had to cling to its back to steady himself. "Give it back!"

"Nope!" Albus spun the chair again causing Scorpius to topple over, landing on all fours. As he spun, Albus gave him a kick on the bum, sending Scorpius sprawling on the floor. "You're really bad at fighting without a wand."

"It's not as if I've had much practise," Scorpius protested, pushing himself onto his knees. Turning, he saw that Albus was facing him again, grinning, and still hugging the pillow. Narrowing his eyes, Scorpius didn't give Albus any warning as he lunged once more for the pillow. His friend cried out even as Scorpius laughed triumphantly: he had got a hold of the pillow again. "Give it!"

"No way!" Albus pulled it up, as if trying to hold it above his head and out of reach, but Scorpius clung on. However, because of the pulling, Scorpius began to overbalance. At the last moment, he had to let go of the pillow to grab the arms of the chair to stop him falling face first into Albus's lap.

They paused, staring at each other, blinking at the situation they had gotten themselves into. Then Scorpius snorted, amused at the bewildered expression on Albus's face. That set off Albus, too, and soon they were laughing, hanging onto the chair to keep from falling over.

"Albus!" came a call as they were catching their breaths. "Dinner!"

"Coming!" Albus yelled at the top of his voice. Turning to Scorpius, still grinning, he said, "I wonder what dinner with Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy is going to be like."

* * *

Apparently, there was a dining room in the back of the house. There were floor to ceiling windows which looked out onto a flourishing garden though Scorpius was sure he saw a gnome run by when he glanced out. The walls were painted white with souvenir plates from various countries around the wall. Little wizards and witches waved from them and Scorpius wondered who they were and who had bought them for the Potters. Did Ginny collect them when she was reporting on big sports news stories? Or did Harry pick them up while chasing Dark wizards? Scorpius had to stifle yet another laugh as he thought of Harry Potter, robes flying as he chased another man down the street, skidding to a halt and perusing the things at a tourist shop, buying a plate and then carrying on with the chase.

A long table was pride of place in the middle of the room. To Scorpius it looked just the right size for the seven of them and yet also impossibly long, too long for the room. He supposed it was more of a similar magic that caused the house to grow and shrink depending on numbers. It made him think of the Potters' home as far more inviting and homely than the Malfoy Manor. With only the two of them, it was rather painful being there.

Watching Ginny set the table, Scorpius suddenly thought of his own mother who had sometimes insisted on cooking, despite the house-elf his father had employed after the Battle of Hogwarts. Like it did so many times before, it suddenly hit him that she wasn't with them any more. She was gone and he wouldn't see her again. He missed her: he missed her hugs and her kisses and her smiles...

Biting his lip, Scorpius took his seat and willed himself not to cry. He caught his father's gaze and an understanding look passed between them, one that they had shared so many times before. With the table between them and the Potters around them, however, they could nothing to quietly comfort each other.

Suddenly, Scorpius felt Albus bump shoulders with him, shoving him to the side slightly. Regaining his balance, Scorpius glared at his friend. Albus responded with a sheepish, almost apologetic smile. Knowing that Albus had realised he was upset, Scorpius returned the smile.

"Dig in everyone!" Ginny declared, making the lids on the dishes disappear with magic. Scorpius blinked, watching in amazement as both James and Scorpius grabbed serving spoons and then battled to be the first to get the stew. Lily, meanwhile, was scooping baked potato after baked potato onto her plate. At the end of the table, Ginny was placing vegetables onto Harry's plate as he smiled at her. Scorpius looked at his father who looked as though he was fighting back an amused laugh. He smiled at Scorpius who prepared himself to enter the battle.

Once the din had died down and everyone had something to eat, they all relaxed into easy conversation. Lily, James and Albus were arguing about the lack of potatoes for everyone after Lily had stolen them all. The adults were speaking about Ministry matters on his other side so Scorpius lapsed into silence, delicately eating his meal. He smiled as Albus lunged forward and stole a potato from Lily's plate. There was a sudden uproar and, though everyone looked annoyed and irritated, Scorpius just felt relieved: he still remembered mealtimes in that other reality, how horrifying it had been.

"Honestly," Scorpius heard Harry sigh, breaking through his thoughts. "How does it always come to this?" Looking around, Scorpius found that Ginny had stood and moved around the table to her children and was currently separating the potatoes out evenly. He fought back a snigger.

"They obviously inherited your unruly genes," Draco replied, glancing up at Harry's hair.

Harry laughed at that. "I suppose. Though I'm sure they get a lot of that from their mother, too."

"Yes..." Draco trailed off and, when Scorpius looked up, both Harry and Draco were staring at each other. Harry looked confused at Draco's blank expression. Scorpius didn't understand it but he could feel the rising tension and he silently begged that they wouldn't start a fight.

At that moment, Ginny returned to her seat. "Next chance we get," she said, "we trade James for Scorpius."

"Hey!" cried James, pouting at his mother. "This time it wasn't my fault!"

"Well, you're the one making most of the noise, James, dear."

"Wasn't my fault," James mumbled around a sulky mouthful of potato.

"I wouldn't trade Scorpius for anyone, Ginny," said Draco with an amused half-smile.

"Yes, I suppose I wouldn't want to trade my cute boys for anyone either."

"Mum!" cried Albus, blushing.

Draco's smile grew. "Are you trying to say my boy isn't cute? You should see his baby pictures.

Alarmed, Scorpius frantically shook his head. "Dad!"

"Oh, hey," said Albus, grinning at Scorpius. "You have baby pictures? You've seen the ones out there – let's see yours."

"No way! I don't trust you with that information!"

"How can I trust you with mine, then?"

"Because I'm a far nicer person than you," Scorpius said with a smirk.

Albus gave a mock gasp. "How could you say that? I'm amazing."

"Amazingly awful," James piped up. "What did you get in your last Defence Against the Dark Arts test?"

"Urgh, shut up, James," Albus replied.

"I didn't do very well in my last test for that, either," said Lily gloomily. "I got a shock from the Grindylow and it went downhill from there."

"Poor thing," said Albus, sarcastically.

The conversation descended into an argument at that point. Scorpius watched them with growing amusement until he had to put down his knife and fork because he was laughing too much. Albus was laughing, too, and it spread around the table. In fact, Scorpius spotted his dad hiding his laughter in his glass.

He hoped the next week or two of practise would be as fun.

* * *

 _ **Making things up as I go along for the win.  
**_

 _ **By the way, Albus's initials are ASP which, well, asp is a term for poisonous snakes along the Nile in ancient times. Did you know that?**_


	2. The Fall

_**Sorry it took a while. Had a week of fan fiction to write that I probably mentioned before. But here we go.**_

* * *

After they had finished eating, Scorpius and Albus rushed upstairs to retrieve their brooms. While Scorpius dug through his bag to find his, Albus approached his wardrobe almost warily. Noticing this, Scorpius stopped what he was doing and looked over. "Are you okay? There's not a Boggart, is there?"

"No," Albus replied with a grimace. "I wish. I just never use my broom – I'm almost scared to find out what it looks like."

"Maybe you should use a broom that's been taken care of..." Scorpius suggested, now rather worried that Albus's broom would buck him off due to mistreatment.

"I'm sure it's fine." And, with a deep breath, Albus wrenched open the doors to the wardrobe. Scorpius watched as Albus pushed aside robes and trousers to step into it. There was a few thumps, a dull thud, a muffled curse and a scraping noise before Albus began to back out, pulling out an old Firebolt Supreme. It appeared to have a layer of grey dust on it and at Scorpius's alarmed look, Albus began to frantically rub at it with his sleeve. "It's fine!"

"Right..." Shaking his head in amazement, Scorpius returned to his bag and finally managed to grasp the handle of his own broom. He paused and glanced at Albus's old broom out of the corner of his eye. It looked really old. And he was sure everyone else would have well-worn but loved brooms. As for him, he and his father had went to Quality Quidditch Supplies in the first week of the holidays after Scorpius had told Draco his plans – would it look like he was trying to show off his money?

It wasn't as though he could sit there all night, though, so he hesitantly brought it out. With the light from the window, it sparkled in all its new glory. It had a green tinge to it and its name was written in a shining silver. He had wondered when he bought it whether it would distract the Seekers. Turning to Albus, he awkwardly held it before him as if to defend himself from his choice.

When Albus saw the broom, however, his eyebrows shot up. "Woah! Is that green or am I just seeing things?"

"It's green," Scorpius assured him. "It's a Nimbus Three Thousand – you can customise its colour... If you have enough money..."

"Huh. Awesome." Albus looked down at his own broom. "I think Dad preferred the Firebolt series. I'm sure James had one of the newer Firebolts."

"My dad still has his Nimbus Two Thousand. You should see it – it's like looking at a piece of history."

Albus snorted. "I'm sure he'd love to hear you call it that."

"Well, he's a part of history, too, isn't he?" Scorpius pointed out with a shrug.

"Sure. I heard the Firebolt fluctuates in popularity 'cause of articles on its use in Quidditch magazines and stuff."

"There you go." Scorpius paused but, when Albus said nothing else, added, "Shall we go?"

"Yup. Let's go. We've got a bit of a walk before we get to the protected area."

"It's lucky you don't live near Muggles," Scorpius mused as they descended the stairs.

"Yeah but we still get some around. Mum and Dad have both had to do the Memory Charm on people who've been walking along the public trail near here. They get lost and end up at our front door – and always when something crazy is happening. I think, last time, James had given me one of Uncle Ron's Blow-Up Bubblegum. This bloke found me inflated and floating around the garden. He fainted and we had to bring him inside. Mum was furious when she found out – you know, the deadly quiet kind of fury. It was scary."

"Poor thing," said Scorpius, sarcastically. "The most we get is a lost post-owl."

"You've got all those walls to keep everyone out."

"Yeah. And I don't have people playing pranks on me, either."

"Don't worry," said Albus, looking over his shoulder at Scorpius to grin at him. "I'll send you something when you go home, all right?"

"Don't you dare!" cried Scorpius, swinging for him with the handle of his broom. Albus ducked and jumped the last few steps, spinning away from Scorpius's second attempt. Laughing, he dodged around his sister and hurried for the back of the house. Scorpius followed with a hurried apology to poor Lily who had flattened herself against the wall.

Outside, they passed through the garden, heading towards a gate set into the far hedge. Scorpius took a look around: a vegetable patch took up part of the garden, just underneath the kitchen window; flowerbeds were set into the edges of the space; a lawn took up much of the middle of the garden and Scorpius supposed that it was perfect for children to play on; in one corner was a water fountain, shaped like a phoenix rising from its ashes – as they passed, it flapped its wings, sending a spray of water into the air. Grinning, Scorpius caught up to Albus just as he opened the large, iron gate. They stepped through and began to head to the forest beyond when Albus stopped.

"Oh, wait. We forgot the Quaffle."

"You'll forget your own head next," said Scorpius, shaking his head.

Albus shot him an unamused look. "I'll be just a minute."

With that, he darted back to the garden, his broom still in hand and coming dangerously close to being dragged. Scorpius winced at that and turned away. Shifting where he stood, he hoped Albus wouldn't be too long. He glanced at the trees, wondering what sorts of creatures would be there. Normal animals or magical creatures? Would any show themselves whilst he waited? Feeling a little out of place standing in the middle of nowhere, he moved over to the nearest tree and leant against the trunk, carefully propping his broom against it as well. For added affect, he folded his arms and watched for Albus's return.

It wasn't too long until he saw Albus scurrying back towards him. He had a small chest under one arm and was holding onto his broom with the other. The poor broomstick looked like it was going to be dropped and Scorpius had to hold back a wince. Once Albus reached him, however, he raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Is this you practising for Rose?" Albus asked, smirking at Scorpius.

Blushing, Scorpius scowled. "Oh, shut up. Let's go."

They made their way through the trees to a massive clearing not too far from the house. Scorpius was sure he saw something flit away as they arrived and wondered what it had been. It was driven from his thoughts, however, when Albus put down both the broom and the chest and opened the latter. Inside was a Quaffle, a Snitch and a single Bludger; the Bludger rattled against its restraints.

"Brilliant," said Scorpius. "What will we make the goals?"

"We've already got goals," Albus replied, pointing to upwards. Looking up, Scorpius spotted the undersides of three baskets. Across the clearing, he could see three more, each of them looking a lot like a bird's nest. All of them were at different heights, just like the hoops on a Quidditch pitch. He also realised that, once the Quaffle went in, it would be caught there, unable to go flying away into the trees.

"Cool. You ready?"

"I suppose." Albus sounded wary but gamely lifted up the Quaffle and mounted his broom. Scorpius gave him an encouraging smile and mounted his own. Taking a deep breath, Scorpius kicked off and soared into the air, the wind pulling at his hair and clothes. Happily, he made a few loops of the clearing before coming to a stop beside where Albus was hovering.

He watched his friend grimacing at the broom which seemed to be shaking slightly. His balance was a little off as he tried to cling to both the broomstick and the Quaffle. Scorpius frowned at him. "Are you sure you're all right? That broom doesn't look-"

"I'm _fine_ , Scorpius. Geez. Stop banging on."

"Okay, okay. Let's do this then."

Scorpius flew to the nearest goals, the ones closest to the house. With a sharp turn, he stopped himself, facing Albus. Nodding to show he was ready, he waited for Albus to come closer, his flight slow and a little sluggish. Scorpius winced as he watched his friend draw closer. Finally, Albus deemed himself close enough and tried to shuffle the Quaffle around with one hand. Unfortunately, this meant he lost his grip and they both watched as the Quaffle plummeted to the ground, landed a few feet from the chest, bounced a few times, rolled and then stopped by a tree root. Both of them looked up at each other at the same time after they had watched it stop, Albus wincing.

"Sorry," he said. "I'll get it." Without waiting for Scorpius to reply, he pushed the broom's handle to the ground and gently, slowly, made his way down to the ground. There, he alighted, grabbed the Quaffle and mounted his broom again. It took him around a minute to reach the right height again.

"Maybe-" Scorpius began.

"I'm _fine_. I just dropped it, _all right_?" Albus gave Scorpius a glare and he could only shrug in response, fighting the urge to shake his head.

"Well, any time you're ready."

This time, Albus took both hands off the broom. Wobbling slightly, he threw the Quaffle in a hurried toss. Scorpius easily caught it without having to move. They stared at each other. Then, with a sigh, Scorpius flew forward and handed the Quaffle back to Albus. He returned to his place without comment, knowing that Albus had stubbornly dug his heels in – metaphorically, at least.

"Ready?" Albus asked.

"As ever."

So Albus threw the ball. This time, he put more force into his throw, aiming for one of the lower baskets. It came close to Scorpius, however, and he merely leaned out and hit the ball away with his hand. Falling at an angle, it soon landed in the middle of the clearing, Albus following it slowly to the ground. When he returned, Albus paused before he threw it, frowning at Scorpius.

"Maybe you don't need any practise."

"Albus," Scorpius sighed, "you're hardly throwing it hard enough. If you want to get it past me it has to be faster than that. You're supposed to make me fly out of the way so someone can catch the Quaffle and score. Or something like that, anyway. Besides, most Chasers would actually be flying towards me, you know."

"Fine. I can do that."

"Really?" asked Scorpius, sceptically.

"Of course!" Albus declared. He turned his broom and flew a little ways away before turning it back to face Scorpius. "Get ready, then!"

Sighing, Scorpius did as he was told, hovering above the baskets, waiting. He watched Albus fly towards him, actually picking up a little speed. At the last moment, he removed his hands from his broom, gripped the Quaffle and threw it to his side as he turned and flew past instead of crashing. This time, the ball was fast enough to make Scorpius dive for it. He managed to catch it before it fell into the middle basket – just as Albus gave a cry.

Startled, Scorpius looked up to see Albus hanging off his broom. One of his hands clutched at the broom, the other flailing in the air as he tried to keep his balance. Meanwhile, one of his legs, bent at the knee, clung to it. The Firebolt wasn't helping matters as it continued to fly in a lazy oval. In fact, as the shocked Scorpius watched, Albus's leg fell from the broom, accompanied with another frightened cry.

Dropping the Quaffle, uncaring whether it landed on a Muggle's head, Scorpius leaned forward on his broom, willing it to go as fast as possible. It shot across the space between him and his friend – but arrived just a little too late. Albus's broom gave an unhealthy shake and his grip slipped. The wild-eyed Albus fell, his shirt rippling around him as he yelled. Scorpius didn't stop, looping around and into a steep dive. His heart was hammering in his chest as he reached out for Albus, imagining his broken body on the ground so far below, remembering times when he wasn't there.

Thankfully, his broom was much faster than the older models and he was soon within reach. Since Albus was also reaching for him, for a hold on anything, Scorpius was able to clasp Albus's wrist. Albus grabbed hold of him and he jerked to a stop. Pain spiked through Scorpius's shoulder before fading into a dull, throbbing pain. Wincing, he tightened his grip on Albus instead of letting go. Then he pulled up sharply, Albus's feet brushing against blades of grass. Relieved, Scorpius braked hard and toppled from his broom and into Albus who had barely gotten his feet under him. They were both sent sprawling on the ground, Scorpius on top of Albus.

For a moment, Scorpius remained tense, holding himself up to take in Albus's face. His friend's face was red, his eyes wide as he stared back. They were both breathing pretty hard but, apart from that, Albus seemed unharmed. Relieved, Scorpius let himself relax, slumping more completely on Albus, face buried in Albus's shoulder.

"Thank Dumbledore," he breathed.

"Uh... huh..." was Albus's distant response.

"You could have died – I would never have gotten to my wand in time."

"Yeah... You... saved me."

"Second time!" Scorpius reminded him, pushing himself onto his knees. He looked down at Albus who stared back, seemingly in awe. Then he clambered off his friend and used his hovering broom to lean on. It was then that he realised he was shaking. There was no way they could do anything more in the makeshift Quidditch pitch. "Let's... I think we should go back to the house."

He looked back at Albus to find him still staring. Then Albus blinked and slowly nodded. He pushed himself up then, when Scorpius offered his hand, let Scorpius pull him to his feet. Scorpius looked up at the Firebolt Supreme and, with a weary sigh, mounted his broom.

"I'll get the Firebolt. You get the Quaffle."

"Ah, wait," said Albus, grabbing Scorpius's hand. "Don't tell anyone."

"Why-?"

"Just. Don't, okay? I don't want them... fussing."

Scorpius stared at Albus, bewildered. He absently noted that Albus averted his gaze when he realised Scorpius was looking. Then, with another sigh, he nodded. "Fine. But you're not allowed on a broom without adult supervision from now on. Merlin's beard, Albus, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

* * *

Later that night, once they were both in bed, Scorpius tried to keep his eyes closed. But, every time he did, he could see Albus's fall. His imagination took it to the next step and showed him Albus, body thoroughly broken, laying on the ground. He only just managed to stop himself from gasping at the image.

After tossing and turning for some time, Scorpius gave up. Turning to lie so he was facing Albus, he whispered, "Albus? You awake?"

"Yeah," came the reply.

"Can't sleep?"

"Obviously," Albus replied and Scorpius could almost see him rolling his eyes.

"Sorry. I just... keep seeing you fall."

There was silence for a moment and then Albus said, "Oh. Yeah. I keep... Anyway, you need to go to sleep. You've got flying to do tomorrow and I don't want _you_ falling, too."

"I won't fall," Scorpius assured him. "Didn't you see me swooping down to catch you?"

Pausing, Albus slowly said, "I did, yes. Thank you."

"You're welcome." They descended into silence for a while. It was a comfortable one, the kind where Scorpius didn't feel the need to speak. The exhaustion of the day pressed down on him and he yawned at one point. He heard Albus do the same a moment later. Letting his thoughts wander, he remembered what would be happening the next day: him, flying, in front of several accomplished Quidditch players. Not only that, but Rose would be there as well... "I'm beginning to feel a little nervous about tomorrow, actually," he murmured to Albus.

"Mm," Albus replied, sleepily. "'S'that 'cause of Rose or the flying?"

Scorpius could feel himself blush and was glad that they couldn't see each other. "Does it matter? I hope nothing bad will happen."

"'S'long as you do what you did today, you'll be fine."

"Are you referring to the minimal defending I had to do from your rubbish throws or rescuing you from almost certain death and _definite_ major injury?"

"Mm, both."

"Try not to fall off your broom again."

"Mm." There was a short pause. When Albus mumbled his next statement, Scorpius almost didn't hear him and had to hold his breath to do so. "I think a lack 'a' balance wasn' the on'y thing to make me fall..."

Shaking his head, Scorpius rolled onto his back. "You're mental, you are. Just go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night," Albus mumbled. It took a few more seconds before Scorpius heard Albus's slow breaths.

"Goodnight, Albus," said Scorpius with a fond smile.


	3. The Helpers

By the time Scorpius arrived in the dining room for breakfast, he was so nervous he was feeling quite ill. He had chased Albus away when he offered to wait upstairs for him so his friend was already sitting at the table. When he entered, everyone looked up. Draco and Ginny were already there, as was Lily, but both Harry and James were absent. Albus, who had been looking a little glum as he poked at his eggs, lit up as Scorpius made his way over to him.

"Ah, good morning, Scorpius," said Ginny. She gestured to the table. "Help yourself. We've got bacon, eggs, toast, cereal..."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter."

"Oh, you can call me Ginny, dear," she replied. "We're friends, after all."

"Good morning," said Draco as Scorpius sat down.

"Good morning, Dad," Scorpius replied, smiling at the man. Since he'd likely need the energy, he put some food on his plate and began to eat. There was a sleepy silence as everyone made their way through their own meal. Ginny yawned widely and unabashedly. Albus chewed on his eggs, watching Scorpius out of the corner of his eye: Scorpius spotted him and raised his eyebrows, wondering what he was looking at.

The silence was broken by Draco hiding a yawn behind his hand. "Is there any tea?" he asked.

"Of course!" Ginny replied, pulling her wand out of her pocket. She flicked it in the direction of the kitchen and, after a few moments, the teapot came zooming through the room, landing rather roughly on the table. It skidded a few inches, knocking over boxes of cereal. When it came to a stop, several teacups landed, sliding into it and coming to a stop. "Help yourself!"

Draco looked scandalised at the treatment of both the tea things and the table. However, he made no comment on it and, instead, reached for a cup and the teapot. "Thank you," he said as he poured the tea.

"Me, too, Dad!" Scorpius said, grabbing a cup and sticking it out towards Draco. "Please," he added when his father raised his eyebrows.

"I'll have some, too!" Albus added, hastily.

Scorpius blinked, turning to stare at Albus in amazement. Lily also stared, the piece of bacon she had caught falling from her fork. "Since when do _you_ drink tea?" Scorpius demanded.

"I thought the only hot drink you liked was hot chocolate," Lily piped up.

"I... That's not true," Albus protested, his cheeks turning red. "I like warm Butterbeer, too!"

"Leave your brother alone, Lily," Ginny said, gently, though she looked just as surprised. "If your brother wants tea, he can have some."

"Thanks," he mumbled, pushing a cup in Draco's direction. Draco graciously poured Albus a cup.

Both Scorpius and Albus had just accepted their cups when James entered. His hair was a mess and, if he hadn't avoided tripping over Draco's chair and sitting on Scorpius, the Slytherin would have thought James's eyes were closed. "Mornin'," he mumbled. As he sat down, he grabbed several plates and boxes and pulled them towards him, building a little wall of food around his space.

Looking between him and Albus, Scorpius could suddenly see why some people said they looked alike. Usually, James's hair was neatly brushed and kept out of his eyes: Albus seemed to have a losing battle with his combs. However, without any sort of treatment, James's hair was as unruly as Albus's. And, now that Scorpius thought about it, Harry's.

Of course, he would never be confused as to which one was James and which was Albus. For one, James was taller and broader. His jaw seemed a little squarer now than when they had first met. Also, despite being older and (supposedly) more mature, he still looked equal parts mischievous and smug. Albus had always looked kinder and happier, in Scorpius's opinion – when Albus wasn't convinced he had something to prove, anyway.

"Honestly," said Ginny with a sigh, glancing at a clock hanging on the wall. "Someone's going to have to get your father out of bed again."

"Not me," James immediately grunted.

"It's Albus's turn!" Lily declared when her mother looked at her.

"But I- Scorpius is _my_ guest. I can't leave him. Right, Mum?" Albus looked to her, gaze pleading.

"I can go with you, if you want," Scorpius offered. Albus shot him a glare.

"Well, that seems like a good idea," Ginny said. "If you don't mind, Scorpius?"

"Of course not, Mrs.- Ginny."

Grinning, Ginny turned to Albus. "On you go, then."

Grumbling, Albus stood and made his way from the room, leaving behind his untouched cup of tea. Scorpius hurried to catch up. "Still hungry?" he asked as they reached the stairs.

"I'm full," Albus replied. "But I didn't want to move..." He pouted at Scorpius.

"Ah, you were being lazy," Scorpius said, grinning at his friend.

"No! Was not! You're not meant to exercise right after eating."

"I'm sure that's swimming. And we're only going up one floor." Scorpius gestured at the landing and Albus snorted in response.

Albus led them down the hall and stopped outside a door marked with a stag and a horse facing each other. The curious Scorpius would have asked but Albus had already opened the door before he opened his mouth. He decided to ask at another time and peeked into the room, wondering if he should enter as well. Beyond, the room was dim, the curtains still closed. From what he could see, there was a double bed, a large wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a couple of trunks, robes draped over them. A full-length mirror sat in the corner of the room, snoring sounds coming from it. In the bed, covers wrapped around his legs, lay Harry Potter. He was shirtless and breathing deeply, his chest rising and falling almost hypnotically. His hair was even messier than James's, sticking out every which way on the pillow. One of his arms had probably been thrown over Ginny during the night and was now clutching at the vacant pillow. Scorpius thought he looked far more peaceful than he did when he was awake.

Hovering at the door, Scorpius watched his friend march over to the curtains, wrench them open, then turn to his father and give him a quick, rough shake. "Dad," he said. When he got no response other than a grunt, Albus shook him again. "Dad! Mum wants you down for breakfast. The bacon's getting cold." Nothing happened and Albus turned to Scorpius. "You try."

" _Me_?!" exclaimed Scorpius, torn between keeping his voice low or using his normal volume. "Why me?"

"Show me a miracle, Scorpius," said Albus, smirking. "Let me see you wake Harry Potter. If you do, you'll go down in history." He paused before adding, "Maybe you'll impress Rose."

With a broken cry, Scorpius glanced at Harry. "Your dad's _right there_!"

"I know," said Albus. He gave his father a thoughtful look. "I thought it might wake him up."

Scorpius glared at his friend. "Oh, fine. I'll help." He stalked over to the bed, shunted Albus out of the way with his hip and leaned over the man. With a far rougher shake than Albus's, Scorpius said, "Mister Potter! You'll miss breakfast if you don't wake up!" The man merely turned over in his sleep and Scorpius folded his arms, staring down at Harry. "How on Earth did he wake up for school?"

"Maybe he's just old," Albus suggested, smirking. There was no reaction from Harry.

Sighing, Scorpius tapped his chin, thinking. "There's got to be something he'll wake up for." He glanced around the room, looking for help. Now that he could see better, he noted Harry's glasses on a bedside cabinet, sitting upon a copy of The Quibbler. Next to them was his wand, within easy reach. Humming, Scorpius looked from Harry to the wand before reaching over and giving Harry another shake. "Mister Potter!" he cried as loudly as he could. "There's a fire in the kitchen!" Harry only stirred slightly but, otherwise, didn't move.

"Ah," said Albus as if he understood what Scorpius was doing. "That won't work – Mum's always taking care of that. Let me." He brushed against Scorpius as he moved closer, shaking his father once again. "Dad! Lily's been kidnapped!"

Almost at once, Harry sat bolt upright, grabbed his wand, fumbled with his glasses and looked around, breathing hard. Seeing Albus and Scorpius grinning down at him in victory, Harry frowned before suddenly yawning. When he could finally speak, he said, "What's going on?"

"Mum wants you down for breakfast," Albus explained.

"Oh. I'll be down in a minute."

"'Kay. We're going to my room."

"We are?" asked Scorpius.

"I have a chess set up there." Without waiting for Scorpius to agree, he wandered off. Blinking, Scorpius glanced between the door and Harry who was watching him with a raised eyebrow. Giving Harry a sheepish smile, Scorpius hurried after his friend, careful to close the door behind him.

* * *

It was close to lunchtime when something slid under Albus's door, flapped its wings and rose. Scorpius startled at the appearance of the magical memo and almost sent his last pawn flying. It cried out in protest and Scorpius muttered a quick apology, leaning away from the board. He looked back up in time to find Albus snatching the flapping note from the air.

"What is it?" asked Scorpius, wondering what was going on."

"Dad's sent us a summons," Albus murmured, absently. He was frowning at the message, obviously displeased.

"Why? Is something wrong?" Scorpius felt his stomach drop. Was something happening? Had _that woman_ escaped? Was she coming for Albus?

"Uncle Ron and everyone's here. Well, everyone bar Aunt Hermione."

Scorpius sighed in relief. "Oh, I thought something _really_ bad was going on." Then what Albus had said hit him and he sent his Queen flying off the board as he jerked in surprise. The little chess piece shrieked and shook her fist at him but he ignored her. After all, why should he pay attention to the Queen when Rose was downstairs? For a moment, he felt giddy – then he remembered Albus's frown and he pouted at him. "Rose isn't that bad, Albus. She was being nicer to you at the end of the school year."

"Only barely," Albus mumbled. But he sighed and sent Scorpius a smile. "Do you want to go down now or finish our game first?"

Glancing down at the glowering Queen, Scorpius grimaced and shook his head. "I think this particular game is finished. Let's go see them."

They made their way downstairs and Scorpius noticed that, between James and Lily's floor and the Potters' floor, an extra one had appeared. This one had a mirror set into the wall beside the entrance. When Scorpius glanced into it, he had the feeling that it was more than it appeared. Quite what that was, he didn't know and he shuddered at the feeling of someone (or some _thing_ ) watching him. Albus didn't pass comment, too caught up in his own thoughts to respond when Scorpius tried to catch his attention.

Reaching the ground floor, Albus turned to a door Scorpius had not yet been through. It seemed to be a living room. Several couches and chairs were arranged in a circle. A few beanbags had been left in a pile in one of the corners. In the middle of the room was a knee-high, circular table, polished to shine. Upon it were arranged several nibbles and dangerous-looking sweets. Scorpius swore he spotted a Nosebleed Nougat hidden amongst other nougat. Then again, seeing as this was _the_ Ron Weasley of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, it could very well be that _all_ the nougat was Nosebleed Nougat.

On the walls, pride of place, were several photographs. At some point, Scorpius knew he would have to study them. At a quick glance, however, he noted that most of them were photos of the adults when they were younger. He thought he spotted a photo of Alastor Moody and, in a few of Harry and his friends, Scorpius spotted an owl, staring imperiously out of the frame. One picture, in contrast, was a painting of a house-elf – Scorpius was sure it was a depiction of the famous Dobby.

Crammed into the room were the Granger-Weasleys – or most of them, at least. Ron Weasley reached for a glass to take a sip. He was smiling at Lily, listening to whatever story she was telling. However, Scorpius could see him casting Draco looks every so often and wondered if he should be more worried about a fight between _Ron_ and his father. On one of the other couches, sat Hugo, idly swinging his legs. He looked up at them when they entered, blinking at them, expressionless.

Beside Ron, lying across an armchair was Rose. She had her head flung back, her hair flowing over the armrest. Instead of her school robes, she wore a pair of jeans and a dark green t-shirt. Even from the odd angle, Scorpius thought she looked particularly pretty. Her gaze swept up to Scorpius and their eyes met. Scorpius's heart leapt and he had to remind himself to breathe. For her part, Rose swung herself upwards and twisted, legs lowering to the ground in a move so graceful that Scorpius, barely having remembered to breathe, stopped once again.

A movement attracted his attention and he drew in a sharp breath, glancing towards Ron who had looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed, forced smile suddenly present. "Hello, Albus," he said once Lily had completely trailed off. The young girl rolled her eyes at her other cousin and Hugo returned the gesture with an added shrug of one shoulder. Presumably they found Ron's protectiveness of his daughter silly.

"Hi, Uncle Ron," Albus replied. "Is Aunt Hermione still at work?"

"Yeah. She'll be popping by later."

"Hello, Mister Granger-Weasley," Scorpius said, smiling.

"Hello, Scorpius," Ron replied with a nod.

"We're going to have lunch," Ginny piped up, "before we all go flying." She turned to her nephew. "Did you bring your broom, Hugo?"

"Yep!" Hugo said, grinning at everyone. "I can't wait. Rose is never fun to fly with."

"Hey!" cried Rose, scowling at her brother. "I'm plenty fun. What would you know?"

"Rose..." Ron admonished her, shaking his head.

"He's only complaining 'cause I beat him in that race!"

"You never gave me a chance," Hugo argued, frowning at her. "You're a Quidditch player – of course you're faster than me!"

Rose opened her mouth to argue further but Scorpius, feeling like the argument was going to get out of hand, interjected. "I'm sure she didn't mean to..." He quickly trailed off when all of the Granger-Weasleys stared at him, incredulous that he had butted in. "Ah, er, sorry. I was only-"

"Stop standing around, Scorpius," said Albus, suddenly, tugging him towards one of the couches. They dropped down onto it, a soft, well-worn cream sofa, bouncing from the impact. Scorpius steadied himself by grasping Albus's arm until they had stilled.

"If you want," said Lily to Hugo, "we can have our own race."

"Oh, yes! That'd be brilliant," Hugo agreed, nodding vigorously.

"Now that you've all stopped fighting," drawled Draco from his place beside Harry, "would you like some help with lunch, Ginny?"

"You _cook_?!" Ron exclaimed.

"Astoria liked to cook," Draco said by way of explanation.

"Huh," was Ron's reply.

"You don't need to help," Ginny told Draco. "I was only going to make sandwiches."

Draco's lip curled, obviously thinking of the lavish lunches Scorpius's mother used to make and comparing them. Ron's eyes narrowed even further, staring at Draco pointedly. Harry sighed and shook his head. Ginny closed her eyes as if wishing for strength.

"What kind of sandwiches?" Albus asked, looking at his mother warily.

"Different kinds," Ginny replied, opening her eyes to smile at Albus.

"You're not going to put in that Muggle stuff, are you?"

"Oh, but Marmite is good!" Ginny exclaimed. "Don't you agree, Harry?"

Harry mock-grimaced, holding back a smile. "I'm a marmalade person, myself."

Ginny gasped, placing a hand to her chest in fake shock. "Treason!"

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Everyone paused, staring at each other in surprise. "Are we expecting someone else?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. Ginny shrugged but rose from her place to go see who it was.

Scorpius turned to Albus with a pained expression. "You don't think whoever it is wants to stay, do you?" he murmured, leaning towards Albus.

Albus also leaned in, shrugging a shoulder that Scorpius could feel brush against his. "Dunno. Why?"

"I don't want _everyone_ to know I'm trying out. Not just yet."

"Could just be someone for Dad. Or maybe it's Aunt Hermione."

It was neither, as it turned out. Ginny returned with a happy smile and a young man in tow. His hair was black with bright green stripes curving around his face. Bright, shining, violet irises shone out of oval-shaped eyes. He had a square jaw and a long nose with large, soft-looking lips. Across his cheek was a long, thin scar shaped like a hook. As soon as he entered, Harry leapt to his feet, nearly sending Draco flying as he leapt over the blond's legs.

"Teddy," he said, beaming. "Good to see you! It's been a while."

"Ah!" cried Lily, also jumping up. "You've got a new scar!"

"Yup!" Teddy replied, grinning. "Do you like it?"

"What happened?" asked James, looking surprised.

"Nothing, really." Teddy's grin widened. "I put it on myself. Well? You like?" His eyes flickered over the crowd in the living room, taking in the assembled Granger-Weasleys and finally landing on the Malfoys. Scorpius watched his eyebrows raise and then his brow furrowed, as if trying to work out what was going on.

"You always do that," Lily pouted. She went closer to him and peered at it. "What's it supposed to be from?"

"Nothing in particular. Some sort of curse."

"I hope you're not wearing that around your grandmother," Ginny said, admonishingly, though the effect was wasted by the amused smile she was wearing.

"Nah." Teddy scrunched his nose up, concentrating and, suddenly, the scar disappeared. Scorpius blinked, completely baffled. Mouth flapping, he looked between Teddy and Albus who only smirked at him. He turned back to Teddy when the man continued to speak. "I only put it on for my favourite almost-cousins." He darted over to James and ruffled the Gryffindor's carefully put together hair. Growling, James batted his hand away and began to tug at his locks in an effort to fix the mess.

Scorpius leaned towards Albus. "Is he a Metamorphmagus?!" he whispered, wide-eyed.

Albus nodded. "Teddy's fun!"

"So," said Teddy, drawing their attention, "what are the Malfoys doing here?"

"Well..." said Harry, eyes twinkling – though that could have been the reflection from his glasses. "Your old broom's still in the cupboard, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"You can help out, then. Scorpius wants to try-out for the Slytherin Keeper. We're all going to help him practise."

"Ooh, yeah! That'll be fun!" As he spoke, Teddy's hair changed its stripes to a bright yellow.

"Too bad, Scorpius," murmured Albus into Scorpius's ear. "Looks like more people are going to find out about this after all."

Scorpius only sighed in response.

* * *

 _ **Teddy... kind of... just appeared...  
**_


	4. The Practise

_**I had such difficulty with this chapter - who knew that describing flying on a broom is ridiculously difficult? And more so when it's from the POV of someone who's not an expert. Well, an athlete, I mean. I'm sure Scorpius has read all the books.  
**_

 _ **(I'm just rubbish at writing it, really.)**_

 _ **Also. I'm afraid this may be the last chapter for a while. Cause I want to write some more of a Halloween-ish story I started last year - it's multi-chapter and nowhere near finished so I'll be doing that during October. Then NanoWrimo. And then Christmas...**_

 _ **But I'll come back to this ASAP! (Unless I get another chapter done in a week and then you'll get one before ASAP.)**_

* * *

After a riotous and raucous lunch, the hosts and their family retrieved their brooms, a sense of excitement coursing through them. Both Draco and Scorpius, used to the grim silence of the Malfoy Manor could only float along with them, barely having the time to get their own brooms. When they had all gathered in the garden, Scorpius found himself smiling weakly at Albus who was holding his Firebolt Supreme gingerly. Just ahead of them, their fathers strode, both of them inspecting each others' brooms out of the corner of their eyes.

"Are you sure that broom still functions?" Harry asked.

"I _do_ take care of my broom, you know," Draco answered.

"Unlike _some_ people," muttered Scorpius so that only Albus could hear. The boy blushed and sent him a glare. Scorpius merely smiled innocently at him.

Harry glanced over his shoulder at Scorpius who blinked back, wondering why he was being inspected. Then Harry returned his attention to Draco and said, "I see you got him the latest broom."

"If that's a comment on our second year, then you should know that I haven't bought a whole team's worth of brooms," Draco replied, not even glancing at Harry. "Scorpius told me not to bother."

"A 'team's worth of brooms'?" Albus asked, looking to Scorpius for an answer. Scorpius only shrugged.

However, Harry had heard Albus speak and slowed down to grin at his son. "Lucius Malfoy bought the entire Slytherin team one of those Nimbus 2000s." He nodded at the broom Draco was holding which looked a little faded and lacklustre compared to Scorpius's new, sleek, unmarked one. "It was the only reason he got the Seeker position."

"I'm fairly sure I was better than everyone else, anyway," Draco pointed out, rather defensively.

"Maybe," Harry agreed, looking amused.

They arrived at the clearing with the baskets and Scorpius looked up, locating the general area where Albus had been when he fell from his broom. He lowered his gaze and spotted Albus grimacing as he looked up too. Before he could say anything or just nudge Albus and send him a smile, everyone else was gathering into a group to coordinate what they would each be doing.

"Obviously," Ginny was saying, "Scorpius will be the Keeper. And, of course, Rose will be a Chaser, as will I and... Teddy? Would you like to be the third opposing Chaser?"

"Sure," Teddy replied. Scorpius had to look twice when he realised Teddy had changed his appearance once again. His nose was smaller as were his ears. Instead of his handsome jaw, he had a pointed chin which looked sharp enough to pierce something and Scorpius was glad Teddy was unlikely to hug him. His black hair was shorter now but still a mess, his yellow stripes now zig-zagging backwards till they both met at the nape of his neck. The only thing to remain the same was the shape of his eyes; they were now a golden colour, much like a hawk's. It was a little unnerving.

"We'll have a Beater to hit Bludgers _close_ to Scorpius but not _at_ him," Ginny continued. "I suppose you can do that James, seeing as you've got the bat."

"Yes!" exclaimed James, swinging the bat. Scorpius shared an alarmed look with Albus.

"A Seeker, too. To distract him."

"We've got three of them here," Harry said.

"You be the opposing Seeker, Harry. Draco can be on Scorpius's 'team'. And Albus can be one of Scorpius's Chasers. Ron, you can provide pointers to Scorpius as we go along."

"What about us?" asked Lily, blinking up at her mother. Hugo stood beside her, clutching his broom and staring at Scorpius's with evident wonder.

"You can be the referees," Ginny said. "If there's ever a dispute, you tell us what you saw and who's right."

"Okay!"

With that having been decided (though Ron grumbled about being ordered about by his little sister), everyone mounted their brooms. Scorpius paused just before he swung his leg over to watch Rose smoothly mount her broom. She glanced at him just before she pushed off, causing his breath to catch as he watched, dreamily gazing at her perfection as she rose into the air. Her hair billowed out behind her as she climbed into the air. Once she had gotten to an acceptable height, she shot off, doing a circuit of the clearing, much like everyone else was doing.

Beside Scorpius, there was a cough and he startled from his musing of how pretty Rose was. Turning, he found Albus still on the ground, eyebrow raised. Turning away to hide his blooming blush, Scorpius quickly mounted his broom and pushed off. His hair was immediately ruffled, blowing about in the wind. When he reached the same height as everyone else, he began a slow circuit, keeping an eye on Albus who had followed him upwards. His broom seemed to be moving a little smoother than the day before though was still slower than the others.

After a warm-up which consisted of circling around the makeshift pitch, they took up their positions. Lily lugged the Quaffle into the air and, with a whistle from Hugo, she threw it into the air. Rose shot forward instantly and snatched it from the air. Scorpius watched in awe as she skirted around James and passed Albus before bearing down on him. He barely remembered what was happening in time to shoot across the distance between one hoop and the other in an attempt to stop her. Instead of shooting, she threw the Quaffle behind her where Teddy caught it. Gasping in surprise, Scorpius spun himself around in a tight turn. The movement made him stop, however, and Teddy easily scored by throwing it into the middle basket.

Embarrassed at his failure, Scorpius turned from where Rose and Teddy were celebrating and flew over to retrieve the Quaffle. Ron, however, got there first from where he'd been hovering beside the goals. "You should be careful of that," he told Scorpius, tucking the Quaffle under his arm. "Chasers do that all the time. Slippery little blighters, they are." He paused and frowned. "Maybe not as slippery as the Snitch. But, anyway, stay in the middle till the last possible moment."

"What if she scores, without any tricks?" Scorpius asked, not entirely convinced Ron was giving him the best advice.

Shrugging, Ron handed the Quaffle to Albus who had only just reached them. "Fly fast," was the man's reply. With that, he returned to his spot, apparently unconcerned that Scorpius was not at all confident in being able to pull himself from his musings on Rose in order to stop her scoring.

"I think you did fine," said Albus from beside him. "I mean, you stopped quickly enough."

"Couldn't get going again, though," Scorpius sighed. He eyed Albus's broom. "Are you doing okay? I mean, you barely moved when Rose-"

"I'm fine," Albus insisted. He pouted, glowering at the trunks of the trees behind Scorpius. "I didn't expect her to be going that fast," he admitted.

"You've seen her in matches," Scorpius began but he was interrupted by a shout.

"Come _on_!" Rose called, letting go of the handle of her broom to fold her arms. " _Any_ time today!"

Ginny gave Ron a Look and he said, in a monotone, "Oh, Rose. Don't be so mean."

"Yes, Daddy," said Rose, sweetly, her grin looking wolfish.

And it still made her look beautiful, thought Scorpius.

"Right," said Albus, wrenching Scorpius's attention from the girl and back to him. "I'll... What am I supposed to do with this? I'll never get past Rose..."

"I think you're supposed to try," Scorpius told him, kindly, giving him an encouraging smile. "Just... make sure you keep a good grip on your broom this time."

"Tsk," was Albus's response as he flew off, slowly but surely making his way towards the centre of the pitch.

Scorpius, meanwhile, returned to the middle of the goals and considered Ron's advice. If it could be called that. He supposed it would make more sense to stay towards the middle. However, if he flew towards where Rose or Teddy or even Ginny were when they approached while keeping a close eye on their moments, maybe he could quickly turn if needs be.

He was so deep in thought that Scorpius almost didn't see what happened next. Ginny shot towards Albus, whacked the Quaffle hard and flew by him, almost unseating the boy. Beneath him, Teddy caught the Quaffle and immediately passed it on to Rose who cupped her hands together and hit it upwards and back to Ginny. The passing between them had gotten both Ginny and the Quaffle close to Scorpius who was wide-eyed at the pace. Ginny looped around to score into the same basket as Rose and Scorpius decided he had better act, flying towards her, keeping an eye on Teddy as the young man soared towards the goal on his other side.

Even as Ginny tossed the ball to Teddy, Scorpius turned his broom sharply and manoeuvred between Teddy and the basket he was clearly aiming for. Just as Scorpius had got in place, however, Teddy dropped the Quaffle. Blinking, Scorpius looked down to see Rose coming up from below. She easily caught the Quaffle and spun her broom to fly towards the basket Ginny had been aiming for. Scorpius could only watch in amazement as she easily flew up and dropped the Quaffle into the goal.

Before Scorpius could gather his wits again, a swift movement from the corner of his eye made him glance towards the centre of the pitch. What he saw made his eyes widen further: a Bludger was coming his way, James grinning just beyond it. For a moment, he wondered how he should avoid it. Then he leaned to the side and made himself roll, thankfully returning upright after the Bludger had smashed into the branches behind him. He glanced back to find Ron barely hanging onto his broom: the red-head quickly righted himself, puffing from the effort.

Albus returned to Scorpius's side. "Um," he said, obviously at a loss of how to praise Scorpius. Shrugging, Scorpius flew to the goal and handed Albus the Quaffle, giving him a small smile. He was beginning to think he may not be as suited for playing Quidditch as he had first thought.

Before they started again, Harry soared down to Scorpius, startling him. "Hey, chin up," he said. "You're doing better than most people against experienced Quidditch players."

"Yeah," said Ron, grimacing at something, maybe a memory. He glanced at Harry and shrugged. "Look, the best you can do is watch where the three Chasers are the entire time. These three are brilliantly fast so you may have some difficulty there. Oh, and, you can use other things than your hands to stop a goal. You don't need to fly towards them all the time."

"I've seen Keepers use their brooms," Harry agreed.

Above them, Draco flew by. He gave Scorpius an encouraging smile which quickly morphed into a smirk as his gaze moved on to Harry. "What are you doing, Potter? There's still a Snitch to catch, you know."

"I'm not worried," Harry replied, smirking as well. "It's not as if you ever caught a Snitch against me."

"We're not in Hogwarts any more, Potter. When was the last time you actually flew?"

Harry didn't reply and merely flew off, Draco following him closely. Scorpius was startled as Ron sighed and he looked over to see him shaking his head, Albus hovering nearby. After watching Draco and Harry for a moment, Ron returned to his spot, muttering to himself. Or, since Scorpius could hear what he was saying, perhaps he was muttering to the teenager: "Malfoy's so bad he's using old tactics."

Wondering what he meant, Scorpius almost missed Albus being divested of the Quaffle. Teddy took it from him this time and tossed it over his shoulder to Rose who, having no-one else to contend with, merely flew straight towards Scorpius. She was grinning and it was such a lovely sight that Scorpius rarely got to see it made him freeze, staring at her, his own mouth tugged upwards in a stunned smile. Then, suddenly, she swung off to the side and, blinking, Scorpius remembered what he was doing and where they were (and that Ron was right behind him). With a grunt, he pulled himself in her direction, following her, noting with surprise that Teddy and Ginny were holding back.

It was soon obvious why. Instead of trying to score into the basket she seemed to be aiming for, she suddenly pulled upwards with a muffled 'oomph'. Too late, Scorpius realised that she was looping over him to score in the basket furthest from them. As quickly as he could, he jerked his broom in that direction and, this time, managed to arrive at the 'goal' at the exact moment the Quaffle landed. Sighing, he took the Quaffle out himself. It didn't look like he was going to be ready for the try-outs when they returned to Hogwarts.

Maybe he should just give up.

A glance at the grinning Rose, though, and he felt his determination return. He would wipe the smile from her face, if only to replace it with a look of awe and surprise.

"If you stopped staring at her like you've been fed a love potion, it might help," murmured Albus from Scorpius's elbow. The boy jumped and nearly hit Albus with the Quaffle as he swivelled to him. Albus rolled his eyes at Scorpius though whether it was to his reaction or to the aforementioned staring, Scorpius wasn't sure.

Unable to think of a response, Scorpius huffed and, red in the face, returned to his original position. This time, as Albus flew away, he swerved away from the centre of the pitch. For a moment, Scorpius thought the old Firebolt was playing up again and started to lean towards him, his own broom jerking in his direction as if it could tell what Scorpius wanted. Then he noticed that Rose was flying straight for Albus from the middle of the pitch – Albus must have decided to make Rose's job a little more difficult for her. With a rough jerk of the broom handle, Albus managed to force his broom out of her path.

Unfortunately, Ginny came out of nowhere and effortlessly took the Quaffle from her son. Albus huffed but turned to watch, catching Scorpius's eye. He quickly mouthed 'I'm fine' and then nodded towards the opposing Chasers. Scorpius blinked and looked back at them to find that Rose had once again got hold of the Quaffle. Shaking his head, Scorpius tried to clear his thoughts, inwardly reciting a mantra of 'block the Quaffle' in an attempt to focus.

Rose smirked at him. His hands slid along the broom, his sweat nearly making him lose his grip entirely. Frantically, he tried to work out which basket she was aiming for. However, Rose was flying straight toward him, her smirk softening into a smile. It held Scorpius there for longer than he should have as he stared back at her, unsure what was happening. Then she glanced to her left and, instinctively, Scorpius twitched his broom to fly to block that particular basket. Rose kept flying forward, however, and, too late, Scorpius realised what she was doing. That smirk was back as Scorpius tried to turn the broom, twisting his body to hold out his hand.

The Quaffle effortlessly dropped into the middle basket.

And Scorpius lost his balance.

With a gasp he couldn't muffle, he found himself falling to the side. Quickly, he put his hand back on the handle of his Nimbus, gripping it as tightly as possible. He bent his knee at the last second and kept himself hooked on, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Scorpius!" he heard Albus cry and glanced up to find his friend flying towards him as fast as his worn-out broom could manage.

From nowhere, Draco came flying down, looking worried. "Scorpius," he said.

Righting himself, Scorpius gave a nervous chuckle. "I'm all right."

"I nearly had a heart attack," breathed Draco, his grip on his broom tighter than it needed to be.

"I'm okay, Dad," Scorpius insisted. "Honest."

Draco, however, still looked a little wide-eyed. Before Scorpius could tell him to go back to practise, a movement from above caught his eye. Harry came swooping down, one hand on the broom, the other holding the Snitch tight so it couldn't escape. "Let's take a break," he suggested after taking one look at Draco's paler than normal face. "Ron can give you some pointers on how not to do that. Right?"

* * *

They did just that; Ginny magically levitated not only a table but a jug of home-made lemonade and several glasses. Whilst everyone chattered around it, Scorpius stood a little to the side, listening to Ron who seemed to have become more enthused with the idea of telling Scorpius what he knew. Unfortunately, the majority of his advice was wrapped in stories of his own games and Scorpius soon became unsure how much was fact, fiction and what was sound advice.

Albus stood nearby, sipping at his lemonade and absently watching Scorpius. He wasn't sure what he'd done to get Albus so interested in what he was doing but, after the third story about how Ron had barely stopped the Quaffle, Scorpius decided it was likely that he was still recovering from the slight fright when Scorpius had nearly fallen. He didn't know why Albus had been worried – there were plenty of adults around to stop him from getting hurt.

Afterwards, they took to the air again. The practise went much the same as before with Scorpius overbalancing but remaining on his broom a few more times. Thankfully, both his father and Albus seemed to get used to it, taking longer to fly to him each time. The only thing he improved on was his reaction to Rose as he got used to her approaching him. He was even able to keep his wits about him the last time she charged him, though Teddy then scored for her. All in all, he only managed to save two goals and both of those were merely by luck.

As the sun began to go down, the practise was called to a halt and they returned to the house. Exhausted and sore from sitting on brooms all day, both Scorpius and Albus retreated to their room where they slept for an hour till dinner was announced. Bleary-eyed and yawning, the two of them shuffled into the dining room where everyone else was already gathered. They sat at the end, Albus sitting the farthest from everyone else.

It took some time for Scorpius to realise who was sitting on his other side.

When he turned to accept a dish that was being passed around (chicken in a mushroom sauce), Scorpius found himself looking at Rose's smile. She wasn't looking at him, though, grinning at Teddy's pig snout which everyone seemed to be laughing at. Scorpius almost dropped the plate and only just avoided disaster by putting it down between him and Albus.

Rose glanced towards him, suddenly, as if to check he'd gotten the plate and her smile faded. Her expression became a mask of neutrality. A silence descended on their end of the table, the only noise being made by Albus as he dished out the chicken to Scorpius's and his own plate.

"Hey," said Scorpius, rather lamely.

"Hello," Rose mumbled as if she was trying to be polite and didn't want to. Scorpius would take it, though, glad to have her respond to him.

"Hi," Albus interjected, peering around Scorpius to stare hard at Rose. Scorpius blinked at that, unsure what he was up to. Had he missed some sort of memo?

Snorting, Rose rolled her eyes. "Good evening."

None of them spoke for a while. Then Scorpius cleared his throat and said, "You flew well out there today."

"Well, duh," Rose replied, rolling her eyes again. "I'm not on a Quidditch team because I'm pretty, you know."

"You are," Scorpius blurted.

"What?" demanded Rose, eyes narrowing.

"I mean... Well. You're pretty. Er."

"Hm," was all Rose had to say to that before she turned back to Teddy and James who were bickering good-naturedly and entertaining Lily and Hugo. However, Scorpius was sure he spotted a blush on Rose's pretty cheeks and he internally celebrated.

Grinning, he turned to Albus – who was glaring at Rose with such venom that Scorpius was shocked. What on Earth had gotten into Albus? He hoped there wasn't something big going on again...

The memories of the other reality hit him quite forcefully and he dropped his gaze as if it would help hide his wince. Quickly, he reached for the vegetables and began piling them on his plate. Once he deemed he had enough, he began to quietly eat, content to listen to the chatter from the other end of the table.

"Don't worry," said Albus, suddenly. "I'm sure you'll get better soon."

Scorpius looked at his friend and found him smiling encouragingly. "Thanks," he mumbled, his own small smile forming.

"Please!" Rose interrupted them. "You're going to have to take a year out of Hogwarts to become good enough to beat me."

"Beat your team," Scorpius corrected, intent on making the distinction.

"Which includes me," Rose pointed out with a bemused smile.

"I... Well, yes. I suppose so."

Rose smiled wider. "But you're right, of course. If you can improve over the next week, you might stand a chance. _Might_."

Grinning, Scorpius said, "Well, if someone with such prestige on the Quidditch pitch says I stand some sort of chance, then there must be hope."

"Not for your Quidditch team. After all, I _can_ get by you fairly easily." And Rose batted her eyelashes at Scorpius.

"I'm sure-" Albus suddenly said, sounding irritated. He was cut off, however, by Ron turning to Rose.

"Darling Rose," he said, squinting suspiciously between Scorpius and Rose. Then his expression relaxed into a hopeful one, smiling encouragingly at Rose. "Did you leave Crookshanks any food? Hugo says he didn't so _please_ tell me you did."

"No," said Rose, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were doing it."

Ron cursed under his breath. "I just hope he doesn't eat anything of mine. The last time he did, your mum wouldn't talk to me for a week."

"Yes she did," Rose protested. "Mostly it was ordering you to do more chores."

Scorpius turned from the pair to hide his laughter: he didn't think Ron would be impressed if he laughed at him. Looking to Albus so they could share a grin, he found his friend viciously stabbing his chicken with a fork. Scorpius didn't want to have a private discussion at the dinner table and so he could only wonder what was wrong...


End file.
